Improvement in apparatus



H. M. NAGLEE.

Marine Torpedo.

Patented July 7, 1863 wi l Wm Wplnesses #IMQ t Z 3 W3 [ETECi'lNG ANY EXPLODliiG SilBiii/ihi S A ii iii Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39;.ii3552. Gntul Juiy To all union; it? mug; 5'

Be it h; WI; innit i, a in? M. I /ioenn, brigailiercrnl li ilit Init al St have invented cert-sin apparatus lcr Finding; and l yingj iorpci..ces; anti lilo hereby declare the iollowii to he :1. full, clear, and exact description of no some, rci'mcnce being had to the nccemgmngi :li'aiving, and to the letters of reference nisinii-ii tii' con.

. My invention eimsists in scz e ling for and exploding torpedoes lay noses of c. raft or other suitable ohiect p zniiiterfi to flout with the tide or current from o vessei chor, and having the appliances herein described or their equivalent to be opera-ted iron; she deck of the said vessel, the said appliances lieing such as to cut, catch, seize, or become entangled with the discharging cord of the turns does, the explosion of which is eii'ccteii with out danger to the vessei or to the ogierniors with the apparatus In order to ennhie others to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe the manner of carrying it into On reference to ncco mpajnying (hearings,

, whiohi'orni a, part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side view of my apparatus for fincl ing and destroying torpedoes; i: 2, an end view; Fig. 3, a plan thereof; Fig. 4i, part of the apparatus drawn to enlarges scsie; Fig.5,a diagram ilinstreiisg inc operation of my invention, and Fig. ii 2i nioiiificetioc of the apparatus.

Similar letters refer to parts iiiffillglh out the several views,

A is a light raft, composed in the instance of two simp'ie legs, at an a short distance apart from each connected together by cross-pieces i1 5:, lashed to each other in any manner which may be deemed most appropriate. in place of these logs on ordinary host may no use; or two boats secured in each other; in i any object having; the desired buoyancy serve the required purpose. To this rsit attached (at the 'iii a) n.- iight niece, i -wood, forming a. lever, one arm of which is of such a length that when occupying the angu lar position shown in. Fig, i the lower end of the lever will reach to within a. short distance from the bottom of the 'Ili'1','l.l&il)Oi,9l creek in which the torpedoes are supposed to he eies Army,

:inc'ho. of the le G, win passes under it {silk 'orshortarm rope or cord, in, or through which the raft is permitted to llonf. .To the front of the long arm oi" the lcrer B are secured at short distance apart from each other the appliances best understood by reference to the enlarged View, Fig. 4. Each of these appliances consists of a. metal plate, II, so cored to the icver B by screw, h, or otherwise, but sitnntcii a. short distance from the lever. To the end of each plate a pa xvi, i, is. loosely hinged, the end of ouch pawl bearing, owing to its gravity, against the lover, or be ing iightly force against the some by a suitahic spring.

may be thoroug ly understood, it will be necessary to explain the arrangement of the torpedoes which my apparatus is intended to find and destroy.

The torpedoes hitherto used by the enemy consists? iron. vessels K and K of the form seen in Fig, 2, the vessels being charged with expiosive material.- They are connected together by a cord or wire, t, the pulling of which will canse their explosion. They are anchored anti are permitted to float so for the bottom that the cord will reach the heel of e vesseiipassing through the channel in which the torpedoes are placed.

i he operation of my invention will he best ii stood by reference to Fig, 5, in which iii represents a monitor or other vessel anchored on i; in the channel of a river or harbor if h whioii it is necessary for a vessel to one. in which the torpedoes are supposed to be.;inclioreil, the title flowing in the directicn ct'the arrow. Thea-nit with its lever is in the first instance permitted to float with the iei' come contact with the cor-Ll t which new. {s the to.. e loes together, the movement of the will. arrested, which will llllilnets thst some of the torpedoes have been found, anti that it is time to pull the rope or cord *9, and thereby raise the iong' arm of the lever The cor-Ct i of the torpedo innstneces- H, either by passing onward in the direction in oriier that the operation of my invention in the direction oi the line in. Shouldss-rily become fastens-ii in one of the plates of the arrow 2, Fig. 4, when the lever first comes in contact with the cord, or by passing downward in the direction of the arrow 3, Fig. 4, when the long arm of the lever is raised. In either case the cord connecting the torpedoes, owing to the pawls'z' 1', is retained by the lever and is necessarily pulled, and the torpedo consequently explodes. It should be understood that the monitor M is anchored at such a distance from .the torpedoes that the explosion can have no injurious efieet upon it.

The channel may be searched for any length by permitting the raft with its lever to float in the direction of the line m, after which the rope or cord G may be moved to the opposite sideof the monitor andathe raft be permitted to float in the direction of the dotted line 1)., so that the search for the torpedoes may be continued in the course indicated by that line, and the ralt may be caused to float in other courses by securing to the monitor a pole projecting a considerable distance from one side or the other of the vessel, and i'zermitting the raft to float from the outer end of the pole. The raft may be made to take a still wider range by the rudder, which acted upon by a strong tide or current will cause the monitor to assume the positions illustrated by dotted lines, thereby permitting the raft .to'take the courses pointed out by the dotted lines {1 and q. Thus the channel can be searched and rendered clear of torpedoes to a .width sutficient to permit any vessel to pass with safety and without danger to the vessel from which .the operations are conducted.

In some instances it may be desirable to cut the rope which connects the torpedoes, in

which case the lever B may be provided with a knife or other severing apparatus.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 6 the lever B is shorter than that described in ref erence to Fig. 1, and to the submerged end of the lever is attached a weighted rope or chain to which aresecured a number of hooks, the end of the rope or chain being permitted to drag on the bottom of the river or; harbor, so that some of the hooks would be certain to catch the cord t of any torpedoes anchored in the course along which the raft is permitted to float.

Iclaim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. Searching for and exploding torpedoes by means of a raft,A, or other suitable object permitted to float with the tide or current from a vessel at anchor, and having the appliances herein described or their equivalent, to be operated from the deck oi the said vessel, the said appliances being such as to cut, or to catch, seize, or become entangled with the discharging cords of the torpedoes, as herein set forth.

2. The lever B, its plates B, and pawls i, or other similar appliances, the whole being attached to the raft A or other floating object, and the lever being controlled by a cord or rope, G,connnnnicating with the vessel M, all substantially as set forth, for the purpose specified.

.ln testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\Vitnesses: HENRY M. NAGLEE.

CHARLES E. FosrER, JAMES MQUALEEN; 

